Blog Stage 6: NASA Budget Cuts; Beneficial or Detrimental?

     On the blog "Land of the Pleas and Home of the Craves," classmate Cheri Morris claims that cutting NASA's budget is harmful to the safety of US citizens and that too many people remain uneducated because of a lack of media attention. She goes on to say that within NASA, certain programs are receiving cuts, such as planetary science programs, water and systems, and atmospheric changes. These fields of studies are all necessary for the overall safety of not just America, but globally. I agree that NASA shouldn't reduce it's spending on programs as important as the ones listed. Detrimental is an understatement when considering the possible catastrophes that could occur as a result of a meteor strike or of a sudden rapid acceleration of global warming, which then we as humanity are responsible for the damage to the environment.

     If one considers the dangers that space poses to Earth's fragile ecosystem, then one could logically come to the conclusion that one of only two surefire ways to ensure our continuity as a species is to continue funded research into planetary defensive measures that we could employ when necessary. A moderate to severe budget cut could hinder NASA's ability to educate and research methods of protection. Furthermore, interplanetary travel and colonization of space and other planets, such as Mars, are the other ways to further our species by not limiting ourselves to one planet that may be the recipient of a future massive meteor impact. That situation could spell the end of humanity, as well as any and all life forms inhabiting Earth, so colonization outside of Earth is simply assurance of our survival.

     I realize that the federal government needs to cut federal spending when necessary and that other nations have space programs that do research as well, but NASA has more importance than most people realize, and hindering this important agency is doing more long term harm than short term good when you look at the facts. People need to be educated on space and it's threats, as well as our harmful actions to the environment.  People need to open their eyes to the dangers of space, and of our own actions, like global warming, and start focusing on what we can do to make sure we as a nation and as a species continue forward while experiencing little to no threats. And people need to realize that our existence isn't eternal and that even though there are no immediate catastrophic dangers present, humanity's lifetime is shortening every day that we don't advance our defenses against future meteor impacts or resolve the global warming problems.